Thursday, June 22, 2017

Brave New Girl

Brave New Girl (Brave New Girl, #1)

Brave New Girl is a YA dystopian (are they still writing those?) about a girl- Dahlia 16- who is a clone. One of many. The society she lives in genetically engineers everyone- having babies is apparently obsolete- and Dahlia is a hydroponic gardener, grown for just that task. Her group exists to be gardeners- and other than some recreation they really don't do anything else. They don't have any rights and are not allowed to indulge any interests, and they don't question this because they're engineered and trained to obey, not question. 

The problem arises when Dahlia gets stuck in an elevator with Trigger 17, an elite defense cadet who *gasp* speaks to her. They're not allowed to communicate with other groups, so she's scandalized, but they have an hour alone in a defective elevator so he tries to draw her out. She discovers that as a defense cadet he has more freedom than she does, and slowly she starts to question her worldview. It's hard though because she's literally never done anything- and has never felt attraction before. As you can probably guess that changes with Trigger 17! 

This was a pretty solid YA dystopian. It didn't blow me away at first but as I got into it I liked it more and more. It picks up some momentum as it goes, and I liked that Trigger 17 wasn't the usual bad boy. He's actually being groomed for leadership, although that goes out the window when he and Dahlia decide to hoof it. It kind of reminded me of Divergent in the sense that Dahlia has no idea what is outside the compound- all she knows is inside. Trigger has been out though on patrols and he tells her a little. Their relationship seems mostly realistic, he's definitely a risk- taker and she is not, but that changes as it goes along and she discovers some things about her background. 

I liked the sense of mystery and I'm always predisposed to like a cloning story if it's done well. I did think it a bit unrealistic that she didn't question things a little more, but we sort of get an explanation for that- it appears the clones are literally engineered to not question. The fact that she does is of course part of the mysteriousness. So the science is iffy, and if you've read a lot of YA dystopian this may seem familiar, but I still liked it. There are some twists at the end that were welcome as it expands the story, and there's a cliffhanger ending- it didn't really bother me though, and instead made me anxious for the next book! 

All is not as it seems in this world, and I thought the worldbuilding was mostly solid. I'm not entirely convinced by the society she's building here, but I am invested enough to keep reading. It took me a couple chapters to get involved but once I did it was off to the races. I enjoyed this a lot. 

34 comments:

  1. Sounds interesting and I really like the cover. One to add to the TBR list :-)

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  2. Of course it changes with Trigger ;)

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  3. I got so burned out on dystopian novels that I've stayed away for a while but I was interested in this one.

    For What It's Worth

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  4. Nice review, Greg! Glad this one did improve as it went along, and I also like the fact that you say that Trigger 17 isn't a typical bad boy.
    I also love mystery, so I think I'll enjoy this book :)

    Amy @ A Magical World Of Words

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    1. Thank you! It did improve and Trigger 17 wasn't bad, he was more risk taker than typical bad boy.

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  5. Great review. I'm not a huge fan of dystopian books. I like them here and there. This does sound like a good one.

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    1. This one wasn't bad, I would give it a solid three stars.

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  6. omg Greg! DON'T scare me like that! "are they still writing those?" I HOPE SO! I love dystopias!! Glad you enjoyed this one :) Never enough LOL

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    1. I like 'em too, and they never stop hopefully. I couldn't resist though...

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  7. Not sure about this one. It kind of sounds like the same old same old YA. I am so not up for a cliffhanger either. Ugh.

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    1. In some ways it is, I mean it didn't feel like it was breaking new ground but at the same time it kept me entertained.

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  8. I was a fan of Vincent's Soul Screamers series, and was wondering about this one. I am glad to hear that this is a solid read. Great review!
    Sam @ WLABB

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    1. I've never read any of her stuff so this was new for me. I liked it though, a solid read.

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  9. Totally agree with you about this book! Like- yeah, there were some things that were a bit hard to believe, but I got really into it after awhile and didn't care haha. Plus, it felt quite readable- I had a hard time putting it down after I started to enjoy it. I liked that she DID try to resist for awhile, because it seemed more authentic. I am definitely planning to read the next one, it was a fun book. Glad you liked it too- great review :D

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    1. I agree! It didn't feel groundbreaking but it kept me reading. And I'll definitely be reading the enxt one- I feel like after that ending I HAVE to know what happens next.

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  10. This sounds like an interesting read! I've been having bad luck with dystopian lately, so maybe I'll give this one a try. Great review! :)

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  11. Dystopia isn't exactly my thing, but I admit this plot is intriguing. Glad it was a good read.

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  12. I was interested in this one and this is the first review I have seen. Sounds like a pretty decent book. I will have to keep in mind if I am in the mood for a dystopian.

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  13. Still torn on if I want to read this one or not. Dystopias are so hit or miss but I do like this author so that is a major plus.

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  14. Great review Greg! I've been interested in this, but haven't heard too much about it. I haven't read dystopian in quite some time either, so I hope it will be refreshing. I think I can look over the fact that the science is iffy and enjoy it.

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  15. I thought this one sounded interesting. I actually just finished a YA dystopian as well, but yes they do seem less common nowadays. Nice that Trigger 17 us less like the standard bad boy. The mystery sounds well done even if the science if a bit iffy. Great review!

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  16. Like you said, they still write YA dystopian? I did enjoy the series I read in the past, but I'm not sure I'd like to commit and wait the year between books that they usually do with these things. Glad to hear you enjoyed the story overall even with the shaky science. Wonderful review, Greg! :)

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    1. I know right? I like dystopians and this one did hit the spot. But yeah it's a long wait for the next one. :(

      It was pretty good on balance.

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  17. I was really hoping this would blow you away and be completely believable. I do still want to read it but I think I will wait for the next book and see how it fares first before starting it.

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    1. Well it didn't blow me away but it certainly is not bad, and there were enough surprises to keep me going. Waiting for the next one might be good, I'll definitely be reading it!

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  18. Personally, I don't need my dystopian reads to be 100% believable so long as they keep me entertained, and it sounds like this one did that admirably. I'm not sure what it is about dystopians - maybe the fact that I read so many of them all at once and still enjoyed them? - but I can enjoy them even if they're not particularly surprising or groundbreaking.

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    1. Same here! I like believability but at the end of the day I'm looking for entertainment too. This one definitely fit the bill, and whether I think she should have questioned more or whatever I still really liked it.

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  19. I'm glad you liked it and that it has sucked you in enough to continue the series. I will have to get it!

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  20. The title and the covers look interesting! I don't like the new genres. Still, 10 years ago my local library had only fantasy/science fiction/children/adult departments (if to shorten them up) and now I feel like fantasy genre exploded to all these subgenres ... like urban fantasy...I don't really care whether fantasy is urban or not :D

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    1. I'm kinda the same way- the profusion of new subgenres seems to have gone crazy. Like urban fantasy- half the time it's not even in cities but they call it UF. :)

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